A Long Walk Back Home - Addition
by Sardixiis
Summary: A single chapter addition to A Long Walk Back Home. Now that she's somewhat recovered, Elizabeth has a message to pass along to her brother. That should be easy, but she knows there's a problem. He's not very likely to believe a single thing she has to tell him.


As Will headed through the halls of the White House he couldn't help feeling uneasy. No matter how many times he'd come to visit Elizabeth, he'd never felt comfortable in the building. There was just something about it that rubbed him the wrong way and said he didn't belong here. Of course it didn't help that he was always searched multiple times despite being the brother of the President. His scruffy appearance apparently set off security's alarm bells no matter who he was related to.

Today his unease was more than simply being in the building though. Elizabeth had requested that he come but hadn't told him why. All she'd said was that she had something to tell him and it was important. That was a terribly cryptic explanation and definitely didn't leave him with any good feelings in his stomach.

Will didn't even bother knocking at the door of the study where he knew Elizabeth was waiting for him. Instead he simply opened the door and stepped inside. His sister was right where he expected to find her: curled up on the couch with a stack of papers. The walker resting beside the couch was a brutal reminder of what had happened to her.

She glanced up at the sound of the door opening and beamed at him.

"Hey, Will. I'd get up and give you a hug, but… you know."

She waved vaguely at her hips, which Will knew still pained her. A lot of healing had happened, but the bones weren't fully fused yet and she still had some pins in place.

"Yes, because you're just a lazy bum," he teased as he moved toward her.

Elizabeth snorted and barely managed to keep herself from rolling her eyes.

"Of course it's because I'm lazy and not because a building landed on top of me," she retorted before wrapping her arms around him once he'd sat down.

Will returned the hug before poking fun at her again.

"Half a building landed on you. If it had been the full building I might have given you a pass, but only half gets you nothing."

"You're gunning to get hit, aren't you?"

"Aww, look, we've only been together for five minutes and you're already threatening bodily harm. Maybe I should play it safe and take off now."

"Don't you dare!"

That only made Will laugh, which increased Elizabeth's desire to hit him. She restrained herself however since she did have something she needed to discuss with him. The problem was she didn't really know how to explain it. Chances were good Will wouldn't believe a single word that she was about to share. Elizabeth knew that she wouldn't have believed it either if she hadn't actually experienced it. The crease between her eyebrows deepened as she struggled to figure out where to start. There just didn't seem to be any good way to go about it.

"Well _that's_ totally reassuring. My stomach is already churning bad enough to form an ulcer, but after that expression I'm pretty sure there's one now," Will commented rather dryly.

Elizabeth glanced up at him, her consternation shifting to confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

"Whenever you call and say, "Will, I have something to tell you. It's important," it always terrifies me. You inevitably want to lecture me or you're planning on telling me something I definitely don't want to hear. Either way, it doesn't usually end in a pleasant experience for me, hence the ulcer."

"Oh come on, Will."

"Not exaggerating, and you aren't exactly helping your cause."

Elizabeth opened her mouth to respond but then shut it again. She'd been being judgmental, which was precisely what he'd been talking about. While she knew she wasn't as bad as he was making her out to be, and would be happy to argue it, for now she would forgo that. There were more important things to discuss. How to start that discussion still eluded her though. She spent so long racking her brain for an answer that Will crossed his arms and growled in annoyance.

"Just spit it out already, Elizabeth."

Without pausing to second guess her approach or consider other options, Elizabeth did exactly what Will told her to do. She spit out the first thing that had come to her mind to bring up the topic she wanted to discuss.

"Do you believe in near death experiences?"

It sounded even worse out in the open than it had in her head, but she couldn't retract the question now. Will simply stared at her for a moment. The question was completely ridiculous, yet the more he looked at her the more he realized this was actually a real question. She was clutching her hands tightly in her lap and there was a pleading light shimmering deep within her eyes. She was trying to hide it, he could tell, but she was his sister. He could read her far too well. Clearly she wasn't joking, yet she was afraid he would think that she was. Considering that had been his first thought, it was a legitimate concern. Now he knew better, and he was going to give her a more thought out answer.

"I don't know. They might exist, but I would question if they are what people actually term near death experiences or if they're just figments of someone's imagination."

Elizabeth considered that. It wasn't the worst possible answer he could have given her. In fact, she'd rather expected him to deny their existence flat out. Since he was willing to consider they did exist in some way – though he was unknowingly calling her crazy in the process – it meant that he might actually listen to what she had to say. Of course there was still a much bigger chance that he wouldn't. She sighed, and her eyes flickered to her hands.

"Before the accident I would have agreed with you completely."

This was so much harder than she'd ever imagined, and she hadn't thought it would be easy.

Will eyed Elizabeth warily. He had a feeling he knew where she was going with this, and he didn't like it in the least. What Elizabeth said next only confirmed his fears.

"The whole time I was trapped under all that rubble, I wasn't really there, Will. Physically, yes, but I wasn't experiencing what my body was. I was somewhere else. Somewhere between the living world and wherever people go when they've passed on. At least that's how it was described to me. Will, I met people while I was there. People I've lost."

The amount of skepticism pouring off of Will was more than Elizabeth had ever seen from him before, and she'd seen some pretty big disbelief from him over the years. She knew the raised eyebrow, squinted eyes, and quirked smile. He didn't have to actually say anything for her to recognize that he was pretty sure she was trying to sell him some fake story or else had completely lost her mind.

Will scooted closer, took her hands into his, and looked at her with deep concern.

"Are you sure you're alright, Elizabeth? I know you weren't given a concussion diagnosis or anything of the sort, but…"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes at him and pulled her hands away.

"The collapse broke my pelvis, Will, not my brain."

His eyebrow only lifted higher as he eyed her some more.

"I'm pretty sure I could argue that point right now."

Elizabeth sighed. She'd known convincing Will what she'd experienced had been real would be hard, but that didn't make it any easier now. Somehow, however, she had to find a way to make it work. He deserved the opportunity to have some of the healing that she'd experienced while walking through that halfway world.

"I know I might sound completely crazy. If anyone else had come to me and said the same thing I'm saying to you before this happened I would completely agree with you. It just sounds too implausible. But I'm not crazy, Will. This wasn't just some figment of my imagination. It was real. I was there. I saw them. I talked to them."

The message hidden between the lines suddenly struck Will, and he sucked in a sharp breath. The realization sent his emotions absolutely reeling.

"Mom and Dad? You talked to Mom and Dad?"

"And everyone else I've known or worked with who have passed away, but Mom and Dad are the most pertinent ones at the moment."

Will couldn't quite wrap his brain around the possibility of that, so he had to find a different way to explain what Elizabeth had thought had happened. That wasn't even all that hard either.

"Just because you say you talked to them doesn't mean it was actually them, Elizabeth. You know them well enough that your subconscious could have created them for you. This could have all happened in your head."

"I can't prove that it was more than my imagination, Will, but I know that it wasn't. You're just going to have to trust me on that. Besides, if my subconscious created them it wouldn't have picked to have Dad bring up my water balloon fight with Henry on campus."

"Your… what?" Will asked, completely perplexed.

"Henry and I had a water balloon fight in a rather crowded part of campus when we were in college. Mom and Dad have been keeping track of us since they died and have watched at least part of our lives. Dad had to ask about that moment."

Will snorted. He'd never heard about that event before and didn't know anything more about it than what Elizabeth had just shared. Not that he really needed to know more. What he did know was enough to tell him that his father would have thoroughly enjoyed watching that. If, of course, he had actually watched it.

"Of course he would ask. That's very him." Which in Will's mind was the problem. If he knew it was very much like Benjamin, then Elizabeth would too. "You would have known that too, just like I did. It proves nothing."

Elizabeth sighed again. He could be so pigheaded. It was incredibly frustrating.

"I already told you I have no way to prove it. You just have to believe that I can tell the difference. If it makes you feel any better though, I've thought about what it would be like if I could have talked to them again so many times. This wasn't remotely like anything I'd dreamed of. The conversation was so far off anything I'd played in my head."

"That's at least a little more believable."

That was probably the best Elizabeth was going to get in terms of Will believing her, and she knew it.

"For the sake of time, let's just assume you do believe me, okay? Dad had a message for you and I'm going to make sure you hear it."

"A message? 'Course he did." Will sprawled back across the couch, made himself comfortable, and crossed his arms over his chest. "Alright, go ahead. Let's hear it."

Sometimes Will could absolutely drive Elizabeth crazy, and this was definitely one of those times. At the moment he wasn't in the right mental state to hear what she had to say in any way. The problem was, that wouldn't improve if she tried to share this with him any other time. Later on would be no different. He would give her just as much sarcastic attitude and humor her just as he was right now. She might as well tell him.

"Mom and Dad don't blame you at all for anything that happened, Will, and Dad especially seemed pretty sick of watching you blame yourself. He wanted me to tell you that if you didn't get over your guilt by the time he sees you again he's going to kick your ass."

Why was he not surprised? Probably because there was very little else that a message from his father could have been about. Will blew out a long breath and considered her words. She could just be making all of this up to make him feel better. It was definitely something Elizabeth would do, and he could easily see her using this opportunity. Then he remembered how terrible his sister was at making things up. Creativity had never been her strong point except recently in the political arena, and that was more thinking outside of the box than this type of creativity. Telling stories fit more along the lines of the artistic talent necessary for drawing and music. Elizabeth had never had that. Everything she had just told him was way beyond her ability. While he wasn't 100% confident of that conclusion, he would put a good deal of money on the fact that it was correct. That more than anything else convinced him that she might be telling the truth.

"You aren't just spinning a story, are you? You're actually telling me the truth."

"Yes, Will, I am. Mom and Dad were so proud of everything that we've become, but their one complaint was that they didn't want either of us suffering still over their deaths. They both want you to put aside your misplaced guilt."

"That's not all that easy."

Elizabeth actually laughed. He sounded exactly like her when she'd been talking to Frank, Javani, and Yousif.

"Trust me, I know. I had a hand in the deaths of most people I spoke to in that in-between world. No matter how many times they told me not to be guilty I couldn't just turn it off."

Since then she'd managed to put some of it behind her, but there was still a long way to go.

"Sounds like we both have a lot of work to do."

"Yes. It'll take a while, but I'll keep chipping away at the guilt." She smirked at him. "It's a good thing we won't be joining them for a long time."

Will knew she was talking about neither of them dying any time soon. It was a belief that she had always clung to because she couldn't bring herself to even consider any other possibility. Her words still left one big question open. He rested his elbows on his knees and gazed down at the floor, struggling to find the right words, and the courage really, to ask the question.

"Do you… do you think we'll see them again?"

"Before this happened I probably would have said no. Now I'm pretty confident that we will." A smile flickered across her face. "In a way that's really reassuring because I desperately want to see them again, but it also feels like there's more pressure that way. Like I have to become even more than I am now so when I see them again I'll know I've lived up to their expectations."

Will glanced up at her in confusion.

"I thought you said they were already proud of us?"

"I did, and they are, but I still don't want to disappoint them. They could be proud of where we are now in life, but would they still be proud of that same level of accomplishment years later?"

She shrugged, not really sure of the answer to that question. It felt like she should be able to accomplish something more in time.

Will actually laughed at her and relaxed back against the couch.

"Elizabeth, you're the President of the United States. I don't know what more they could ask for. Pretty sure you've already impressed them enough to fill the rest of your life."

Elizabeth chuckled as well. Ever since her parents had died she'd always viewed most of what she did as not quite good enough. She'd always thought there had to be more to accomplish, but he had a point. Maybe neither one of them needed to accomplish more than they already had. The successes they had to their names were already big enough.

"True. I guess neither of us have to worry then. President of the United States and a renowned crisis doctor now bettering the world by teaching the next generation at the most prestigious medical facility in the country. What more could they want?"

"Us not feeling guilty apparently."

"Except that, yes. We'll both work on it."

"You do realize both of us have _slight_ control issues which makes letting go of guilt rather challenging, right?"

"No, I was definitely not aware of that," she shot back rather dryly.

"Of course you weren't."

They were just digging at each other for the pure pleasure of doing it now. Neither one of them was unaware of their shortcomings. There was definitely denial involved in some areas, but not that one. As Elizabeth had said, however, they would work on the lingering guilt. If she was right, over time they might actually be able to resolve some of it. That was not going to happen today though.

Will stood and stretched. It was late, and both of them would have early mornings.

"Do you want some help getting back to your room?"

He knew she was still having trouble walking, and pain usually spiked more at the end of the day than in the morning. A long walk could very well be too much for her.

"No. It's right down the hall. I'll be fine."

"Elizabeth, you live in the White House. Right down the hall has a very different connotation here than it does in a normal house."

His point was incredibly valid, and she knew he was trying to be kind but she had everything under control.

"It's not exactly like you can carry me, Will."

"No, but I could push you in a wheeling desk chair."

Elizabeth's eyes sparkled with laughter even though none actually escaped her.

"You would drop me right on my face and you know it."

Will smirked, a Cheshire grin that said she was 100% correct about that assessment and he was already enjoying the prospect of doing exactly that.

"Tempting."

"Don't tell me I'm wrong," Elizabeth countered with a grin. "Really though, Henry will be here any minute to drag me off to bed. Trust me. I'll be fine."

"Alright. Goodnight, Elizabeth." He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on top of her head. "And thank you for sharing Mom and Dad's message. I still don't know if I totally believe it, but I'll think about it."

"That's about all I can ask of you, Will. Really consider it because I wholeheartedly believe it was real."

Will eyed her for a moment and couldn't deny the pure truth he saw shining in her eyes. She completely believed everything that she had told him. That really did go a long way for him, though he would make his own decision in the end.

"I will. 'Night."

Elizabeth smiled softly as she watched her brother walk away. She had passed the message along to the best of her ability. He would believe it or not at his own choosing. For his sake she hoped he would accept it and start processing the misplaced guilt he still held. If not though, well, she would rather enjoy watching her father kick his ass next time they saw each other. That would be a definite pleasure.


End file.
